Believe It or Not
by waiting.for.summer
Summary: Sara sets Nick up on a blind date, she even promises to do the next three dumpster dives if he'll agree to go and meet the 'perfect guy'. Has Sara found him the perfect date? Only time will tell if she's made a perfect match.


AN: I originally wrote this for a challenge on another site, but decided to save it for all of you. Happy Valentine's Day!

Nick glanced at his watch and lifted his head, his eyes scanning the crowded room. 'I don't know why I let Sara talk me into this,' he thought as he watched the people moving about. The Texan drummed his fingers on the table and remembered his co-worker's words of two nights before.

"_He's perfect for you, Nick and I'm so sure of it that if I'm wrong I'll take the next dumpster dive we're on together. No, the next three dumpster dives." When he had tried to demur, Sara had pressed a little harder. "I'll make all the reservations and even leave my credit card information to pay for the meal and drinks. Do you think I'd do that if I wasn't sure about this?" _

Seeing her determination and self-assuredness Nick had eventually relented and agreed to this blind date. So now here he sat at a table for two in a restaurant, that did not primarily cater to same sex couples, but had an adjoining bar that was obviously filled with the men who were not looking for a woman with which to hook-up. As he waited for the host, knowing that when he did return to the table he'd have Nick's date in tow, Nick watched the bar area from his seat. He'd purposely sat in the chair that gave him the best view of the entry and bar; he preferred being able to see whatever might be approaching, an instinct that he'd developed while working as a police officer in Texas.

He allowed his perusal of the patrons to be disturbed by the arrival of his waiter who was intent on refilling his water glass, even though Nick had hardly taken a sip of the icy beverage. The waiter was probably in his early twenties and the dark-eyed man had to hide his smile at the obvious interest the young man was showing in Nick. After thanking the young waiter and letting him know he wouldn't be needed until Nick's date arrived, the CSI gave his head a tiny shake hoping that whoever Sara had set him up with wouldn't be as young and green as the departing man, even though Nick had to admit that watching him walk away from the table was a very nice view.

Looking back at the bar he began to notice a few changes that had occurred since his observation had been interrupted. A gray-haired man at the end of the bar now had someone sitting beside him and their heads were drawn close together, and a trio consisting of a tall, leggy red-head and two blonde men had obscured his view of the other end of the long bar. Nick could see movement behind the trio, but that was about all.

He looked at his watch again and straightened in his chair. Nick had arrived a little early to get a feel for the restaurant before the scheduled time, but now the timepiece on his wrist was telling him the arrival of his 'date' was imminent.

Nick's attention was caught when the trio from the bar passed by his seat as a waitress showed them to their table. The second gentleman and he locked eyes as he passed by Nick. The blonde smiled, his gaze skimming over the Texan with appreciation, and Nick found himself smiling in return. 'This place is definitely good for the ego,' he thought, turning his gaze back towards the bar. The departure of the three people from his line of vision allowed him to see the changes made to the previously hidden section of the bar. Nick's eyes scanned the bodies and his eyes widened. A single man stood between two empty stools. He was leaning forward resting his elbows on the bar, the material of his pants stretched tightly across his ass due to its position.

Suddenly Nick wished he wasn't expecting Sara's 'perfect' date, because even though he was no monk, it had been a long time since he'd felt the stir of excitement that the view in front of him caused. He watched as the man moved to sit on a barstool and accepted the bottle of beer from the bartender. Nick took a deep breath and reached for his water glass. 'That's better,' he thought. 'Out of sight, out of mind.' But the trouble was that it wasn't out of mind, not one little bit.

Nick had learned to be patient while sitting on stakeouts during his time as a police officer, so he decided to watch the man sitting at the bar and see if he was alone, or if he too was waiting for a date to arrive. He tensed as he watched a man in his late thirties to early forties approach the object of his attention, but was relieved to see the man eventually shrug and move away. He quickly glanced at his watch and noticed that his date was now fifteen minutes late. How long did he have to wait before it would be socially acceptable for him to leave this table and walk over to the bar, effectively ditching his date, that is of course if his date even managed to show up at the restaurant.

He watched as the man at the bar shifted his arm to look at his own watch. Evidently whoever the man was waiting for was also late. Nick had to time this right. If he decided to approach the gentleman at the bar he needed to do it just after the younger man had given up on his date for the evening making an appearance, but before anyone else had a chance to swoop in and snap him up. Even though only one man had approached him so far, Nick could see the looks he was getting from some of the other patrons in the bar area.

Sara might be pissed, but Nick was beyond caring when he noticed the man at the bar reach into his pocket to pay for his beer. The man had given up his wait and was going to be walking out of the restaurant within minutes. Nick stood and strode toward the bar area purposefully. As he approached he noticed another man had also decided to make a move towards his quarry. Nick caught his look and stared him down, causing the other man to falter and give a slight shrug before pivoting to return to his own spot at the other end of the bar.

Nick slid onto the open barstool to the man's right and turned towards the object of his attraction, startled to be looking at a face he knew almost as well as he knew his own. "Greg!"

The younger man's eyes lit up and his face broke into a smile. "Nick, what are you doing here?" He tilted his head and gestured at the surrounding room. "Not the sort of place I'd expect you to be frequenting."

Nick recovered quickly and returned the smile. "Meeting a friend for dinner, but he must be running late."

"Aw," Greg responded, his smile slipping. "It seems like a nice place. Have you been here before?" Nick watched as his co-worker looked everywhere but at him; the young man was evidently nervous at being found in these circumstances.

Nick shook his head. "Naw, it's my first time here, a friend made the reservation." He motioned to the bartender and waved two fingers, pointing at the empty bottle in front of Greg. "I'm glad you're here. I think I got stood up." He pulled out his wallet and laid a bill on the countertop. "Keep the change," he told the server as he placed the drinks in front of the duo.

Greg smile in thanks. "Yeah, me too. I was just about to leave when you walked up." Nick raised his eyebrows in encouragement, hoping Greg would keep talking. "This is the absolute last time, I swear," he muttered to himself before raising the cold bottle to his lips.

"Last time?" Nick asked, wrapping both his hands around his own bottle in an effort to still them. He glanced over at Greg's profile and wondered why he hadn't noticed just how adorable the moles on the right side of his face were before now. He swallowed deeply as he watched Greg's tongue slip out to catch a couple of drops of beer that clung to his lower lip.

Greg nodded. "It's the last time I allow anyone to set me up on a blind date." He shook his head in disgust. "My 'date', even if he did show up, must have decided to pass." He grimaced, giving a saddened look around the room before returning his gaze to Nick. "And to make it worse I only got hit on once since I sat down. I must be losing my touch."

Nick smiled at the young man's words. Not only was Greg available, he had been expecting a male date. The night was definitely looking brighter at this point. "You're kidding me, right? YOU needed someone to set you up on a blind date? I thought you had to beat them off with a club, G?" He hoped to lighten Greg's mood a bit.

"Not lately," he snorted in response. "It's been so long since I've been out on a honest-to-goodness date I think I've forgotten how to even act." Greg turned his head towards the restaurant. "You sure your date didn't show up while you were sitting here with me?" He looked resigned to losing Nick's companionship sooner, rather than later.

"Yeah," Nick admitted. "He's a half an hour late. He's not showing up now."

"Too bad," Greg said. "It looks like we're both out of luck tonight then." He took another swallow of this beer and Nick watched in fascination as the muscles in Greg's neck moved. He quickly turned to his own beer and took a deep swallow as he attempted to get himself under control.

Nick set the bottle down and sat up a little straighter, determined to move his perception of Greg from the 'I want to get naked with you' part of his brain and back into the co-worker portion of his brain.

He had just about convinced himself that he had managed the maneuver when Greg spoke again. "Just don't let Sara talk you into a blind date with the 'perfect guy'. She obviously doesn't know what she's talking about."

Nick felt his brain slow down as his heart rate sped up considerably. He eased his hands away from his bottle of beer, afraid that at this point he wouldn't be able to pick it up without knocking it over and creating a mess. Lacing his fingers together, he tried to still his racing emotions.

Greg continued his quiet rant about Sara. "She had me convinced. Hell, she even volunteered to process the bathroom at the next scene we have together if she was wrong. I am sooo making her hold up her end of the deal." He gave the edge of the wooden countertop a quick, but distinct slap with the flat of his hand.

Greg's words brought Nick back to reality and he grinned. "Process the bathroom, huh? She must have really felt that this guy was the 'one' for you then." The pieces of Sara's puzzle all started to fall into place within Nick's mind.

The young man shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Whatever. I'm never doing this again. My self-esteem can't take the hits anymore." He began to pick at the label on his bottle of beer.

Nick felt a quick stab of pain at Greg's words. "Aw, come on Greg, tonight hasn't been so bad."

Greg turned on his stool and faced Nick. "Yeah, you're right. At least I was spared the humiliation of my 'date' telling me he wasn't interested to my face."

The Texan shook his head, having a hard time believing Greg was in such a funk. "He wouldn't have said that, G."

"How could you possibly know that for sure, Nick? No offense, but looking as good as you do, you probably never have that problem." Greg set his empty bottle on the counter and shook his head. "I should get out of here."

"Stay and eat with me," Nick said, making it a statement, not a request. After hearing that Greg thought he was attractive, the Texan decided that Sara might just be correct in her assumptions.

Greg wavered, he'd really like to stay, but Nick's date might show up expressing numerous apologies. He wasn't sure he was ready to see the man sitting beside him with another man tonight.

Seeing Greg was on the verge of leaving, Nick decided it was time to admit why he was in this particular restaurant. "Please stay, Greg." He motioned to his table where the cute young waiter stood trying to determine if Nick was returning or not. Nick nodded to him and took Greg's elbow, pulling him out of the bar.

As soon as they were seated and the young waiter had walked away, Nick smiled at his friend. "Sara was right you know." he said picking up the menu that was beside his plate.

Greg raised his eyes from his own menu and looked at Nick questioningly. "Sara? What …"

Nick nodded. "You're going to have to process that bathroom and I'm going to have to do three dumpster dives." He looked at the menu and tapped the page. "The rib eye sounds good."

"Huh?" Greg looked at Nick as if he was speaking a different language. His mind was having a hard time determining what Nick was referring to in regards to Sara.

Seeing Greg's confusion, Nick grinned at his co-worker and slipped the menu from his hands. "Sara made my reservations for tonight. I'm on a blind date, too. Greg, believe it or not, your date, is me."

A smile began to form on Greg's face, and Nick watched as it stretched to include his eyes. The faint curl of tension in his stomach faded as he realized that the younger man wasn't going to come up with an excuse to leave the restaurant and him at the revelation.

"I guess I will be processing the next bathroom after all," he grinned. Greg reached for his menu again. "Three dumpster dives, huh? My self-esteem needed that, thanks."

Nick just smiled in return. "Anytime, G."


End file.
